A Library Book For
Bear by Bonny Becker with illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton is a
humorous picture book about a bear who had never been to the library.

One morning, Bear hears a tapping at his door. He sees the
bright-eyed face of his fervent friend
Mouse who is excited to take Bear to the library to show him around, and
because he thinks that it’s just a doggone fun place to visit. While previously
Bear did promise to accompany Mouse, today he thinks that this expedition will
be a complete waste of his very precious time. After all, he already owned a
grand total of seven books and believed that this private collection would more
than adequately cover his needs for the foreseeable future. But a promise is a
promise, so off they go.

Upon their arrival, a very grumpy Bear is once again quick
to criticize. In his estimation, the library building is much too big and contains
“far too many books”. All this, he declares, is nothing more than pure excess.

But enthusiastic Mouse persists with positives, pointing out
that the library is quite exciting and declares that he will find Bear a
perfect book about pickles, since pickles is the one topic that Bear seems to
find most intellectually stimulating. But no matter which title Mouse suggests,
Bear is dismissive of the selections and voices his displeasure in a very loud
and disruptive manner.

Before long, he is shushed into quiet by two mothers (one
squirrel, the other raccoon), whose youngsters are gathered around a smiling
librarian conducting story time. Bear is upset at being told to quiet down and
wants to leave the library pronto.

However, on his way to the exit, he overhears the librarian
read a story about a very brave bear and a treasure chest filled with very
special pickle slices. Oh my, Bear becomes entranced, and it is now he who
quickly tells Mouse to quiet down!

After story time, Bear checks out a number of new books
including one titled “The Very Brave Bear and the Treasure of Pickle Island”,
which Bear reads to Mouse back at his home that very same day.

Wonderfully expressive illustrations compliment this top
notch choice for young children, that gently promotes libraries and all that
they offer!

And it’s a great selection to celebrate “Read Across America
Day”, March 2nd, 2015.

Hoot Owl is hungry. He is also clever, and a self proclaimed master of disguise. This wonderful new picture book, Hoot Owl by Sean Taylor, shows Owl first disguising himself as a large carrot to catch an unsuspecting rabbit. But Rabbit, not fooled, hops on by. Owl devises costumes as a birdbath, and as a sheep, with no success. How he manages to snag a tasty meal of pizza makes for a clever solution.

Illustrator Jean Jullien has perfectly captured the spirit of the story, and his large, colorful pictures add to the silliness. This is a wonderful book for sharing with a child!

This is a delightful book by Kazuaki Yamada with simple double page landscapes featuring a yellow bus on its way to pick up various passengers consisting of one little girl and several friendly animals. The little girl is holding a red balloon attached to a string which she intends to show to her friends. Suddenly, the wind blows it away! With each turn of the page we are anticipating the balloon’s whereabouts and capture by the animal at the next bus stop. At each animal’s bus stop the sign pictures the animal whose stop it is. Will the rabbit catch the balloon? Will the penguin catch the balloon, or the elephant, or the giraffe catch the balloon as it floats up into the clouds? They follow it high above the mountains and when they almost catch the balloon, a bird pops it! The little girl cries and her very caring friends say: “cheer up”! They distract her and point to the sky and encourage her to look up and wave at another huge red balloon and they watch it as it slowly sinks into the horizon.

C. Roger Mader has done it again! He’s the author of Lost Cat, a children’s picture book I had
previously blogged about. Supposedly, this newest work Tiptop Cat is based on reality as it mimics the adventures of his
niece’s cat living in Paris
...“who roamed the rooftops of her neighborhood and survived a six story fall”.
Yikes!

As the story and pictures describe, a young girl gets a
black and white cat for her birthday, who becomes her most favorite gift. Although
the cat enjoys his indoor life, he also especially likes the outside balcony.
This cat is no slouch – so he roams and jumps from one rooftop to another and then
another, and then one more until he finally reaches “Le Grand Prix”; a prime
sitting spot on a chimney that happens to have the best view of the Eiffel
Tower in all of Paris.

However, one day he submits to his baser animal instincts
and pounces upon a pigeon intruding on his balcony domain. Unfortunately, it’s
a misjudged jump. As a consequence, he falls many floors down, right through a café
canopy and into the arms of a man who just happens to be in the right spot, at
the right time! Luckily, the cat doesn’t
break anything except maybe his spirit for hunting. For a while, he shies away
from the balcony and rooftops until one day he once more spots someone landing
on his domain; this time an irritating crow. And then he can’t help but give
chase.

The author states that he himself lives in the Normandy countryside of France with his wife and a petite
cat named Pete, who is not allowed to hop on rooftops in search of excitement. That’s
very good to know. Because you should never, ever let your cat wander over
balconies, rooftops or anything else located high off the ground! The depth
perception of domestic cats is not as keen as their agility, so accidents
happen much more often than is commonly known. And in the end, the danger of
losing your feline friend for a lifetime is just not worth their temporary
happiness.

A wonderfully spirited book with many bright, evocative
illustrations. Just remember one thing: Unless you’re a stunt cat, don’t try
this at home!

A Letter to My Cat was created by Lisa Erspamer, who also
compiled a collection of correspondence from owners to their canine companions
in A Letter to My Dog. These books celebrate the dedication, love and joy
that our true-blue, four-legged friends provide us. In this most recent volume,
the letters are written by celebrity cat lovers such as Dr. Oz, Gina Gershon, “
cat whisperer” Jackson Galaxy , and many others.

Another year is fast approaching and after reading this, I
decided to also sit down, and with pen in hand, write a letter of appreciation
to my own feline menagerie.

Dear Ollie, Graham and Lionel:

All of you have always been and will continue to be so very
precious to me. I especially love the fact that we never take each other for
granted and cherish every day that we have together living our mutually
entwined lives. Since you are the most senior of the group, I will begin with
you, Ollie.

My dearest Ollie, you are a very respectful, well-mannered
and dedicated companion. You especially love your time with my husband when he
reads anything printed on paper. The two of you have made “Reading with Ollie” an exceptional occasion, and
you jump at every opportunity to cuddle, purr and show your love for the
written word. You are also a great, night-time sleeping companion; quietly guarding over us to make sure we have accomplished a safe and restful slumber. But best of all, you love to talk – either to complain or more often, to express your happiness with your current life’s surroundings.

Graham, you are the biggest cat we’ve ever had the pleasure
of knowing. You have beautiful, tawny-colored long fur. It is possible that you
have a Norwegian Forest Cat bloodline, but we’ll never know since you were
found as a two-week old kitten by the side of the road and given to us as a
stray. You are plus-sized; not actually fat mind you, just big boned. Recently,
we changed you over to a diet food and to our delight, you love it! Although
large, you are no bully; far from it. In reality, your big boned physique is
perfectly paired with your big hearted nature. You are so sweet and innocent, that
friends and strangers love you alike.

Lionel, you are the shyest of all our cats. Although you are
supposedly Graham’s sibling, there is very little resemblance between the two
of you in either looks or character. While skittish, you also greatly enjoy
being mischievous and revel in causing a little trouble, (or should I say
excitement), in the house. You are also very possessive of your people and
simply don’t like to share them. This is especially true when human attention
is being showered upon you. Then you rise to the occasion and show your
authority by pushing any inconsiderate, trespassing feline “buttinskies” out of
the way!

To all three of you, stay healthy and happy this coming New
Year and always remember that you are very much loved!

Love from your friend and mom,

Teresa

P.S. This volume would make a great gift for any cat
lover who appreciates felines’ individuality and unique personality.

A young girl pleads with her mother for a pet. Her mother finally agrees, saying any pet is fine, as long as it doesn’t need to be walked or bathed or fed. A pretty tall order….

Sparky is the wonderful new picture book by Jenny Offill and Chris Appelhaus that details how the young girl selects a sloth as her chosen pet. Sparky can’t fetch, chase a ball, or roll over. But he is great at playing dead, and he has other unexpected attributes, as his young owner soon discovers.

Expressive pictures pair perfectly with the story, making for a satisfying picture book for the younger set.

“Peggy” is the title of a book about a chicken. But not just any old, run-of-the-mill, barnyard hen. No, Peggy happens to be one very brave, extraordinary chicken. As such, she joins the Chicken Coop Hall of Fame populated by other famous children’s literature pullets such as Chicken Little, Henny Penny, Tillie, Yelta, the Little Red Hen, Rosie, Lottie, Hilda, and my all-time personal favorite, Minerva Louise.

Written and illustrated by Australian Anna Walker, Peggy enjoys her day-to-day existence living in a small house on a quiet street out in the sticks. Life is very good indeed! However, one windy day, she is blown away by a particularly strong gust, and lands in the busy city and all that that implies – traffic congestion, great restaurants, department stores, big buildings and bustling crowds.

As she roams around, she comes to realize how much adventure and excitement she missed out on by living in the confines of the country. But as she widely wanders, she also wisely wonders how she will ever find her way back home, because after all is said and done, there’s no place like......well you know!

On a whim, she follows a sunflower like the one she remembers growing in her yard. Sure enough, this (along with a little help from a flock of pigeon friends), leads her back to where she really belongs.

The wonderfully detailed illustrations are delightful and well-suited for this satisfying chicken tale. “Peggy” is highly recommended for pre-schoolers, as well as early-ed children.

On the last day of school, Heather is looking forward to a summer helping her dad on their Hazel Ridge Farm. While pulling weeds in a field, she discovers a fuzzy, helpless, and frightened baby duckling, who somehow was separated from its family.

Heather wants to help the duckling by keeping it warm and well fed. Her dad tells her that “...the hardest thing that you will have to do is not to love him too much”. After explaining these words to his daughter, she replies that “ I think I can love him just enough”.

She calls her young charge Mr. Peet due to his “peet, peet, peet” vocalizations, and puts the little wood duck into an empty fish tank with a towel, heat lamp, and a screen cover. She then begins a daily ritual of scooping up dragonfly larvae, crayfish and other little pond dwellers which she feeds to him. Mr. Peet grows and begins to explore the house and the farm, and in time teaches himself how to fly.

Summer ends and Heather returns to her friends at school, while Mr. Peet finds friends of his own. The now grown duck comes to visit less often and Heather misses him greatly, but tearfully announces that he will be okay, “...because I loved him just enough”.

This book was written by Robbyn van Frankenhuyzen, and beautifully illustrated by her husband Gijsbert, (aka Nick), both of whom actually still live at Hazel Ridge Farm in Michigan. This narrative is a true account of the wild duck fostering experiences of one of their two daughters in the 1980’s. Through this and other stories, (many of which are in the KPL collection), they relate the adventures of wildlife rehabilitation and how they have cared for many injured and orphaned animals over the years.

I Love You Just Enough is a gratifying picture book that is just right for sharing with your children as the leaves turn to their fall colors.

The Guest Cat by well known Japanese poet Takashi Hiraide, was originally published in Japan in 2001 and won that country’s prestigious Kiyama Shohei Literary Award. Unfortunately, it has taken thirteen years for it to be translated into English. But it has finally appeared; a gem of a book written in a very poetic style, with a somewhat unsettling ending.

The story’s narrator and his wife are a couple in their mid-thirties, who live and work as freelance copywriters in a small rented cottage in a quiet part of Tokyo. They are somewhat isolated, feel lonely and their marriage seems to have settled into a rut.

One day a small cat appears in the garden next to their abode. It happens to belong to their neighbors’ son. A simple wooden fence separates the two properties and the cat becomes a frequent visitor.

The feline’s name is Chibi, which means “little one” and she is described as being a jewel of a cat “...with pure white fur mottled with several black blotches”. She walks quietly, rarely making a sound; except that is, when she is made to wear a bell around her neck to announce her comings and goings.

She visits the couple almost daily, gaining entrance to the cottage through a partially opened window; an uninvited yet increasingly welcome, subtle guest who breathes new life into the couple’s otherwise monotone relationship. Little by little, her visits help nurture the formation of a deeper, permanent bond between husband and wife, as well as between them and her.

It’s difficult for me to relive the ending because the resolution is so tenuous and unclear. Read it and judge for yourself. The book is only 136 pages in length. But it is a powerhouse of literary emotion!

This Spring I read Farm City by Novella Carpenter, one of two titles that were picked for the “Reading Together” program that the library sponsors with several other organizations in the community. The book was thoroughly enjoyable and told of the author’s attempt to become an “urban farmer,” as she lived in downtown Oakland, California. Since I liked this topic so much I decided to seek out other books where people are doing the same in going back to the land and becoming self-sustaining.

My next choice was a book entitled Chickens in the Road by Suzanne McMinn. The author was previously a romance writer who after a divorce moved with her three children to rural West Virginia where some of her other relatives had lived and she had visited the area many times growing up. She depicts her struggle in adjusting to being a full time farm owner where everything she raised, crops and animals, were either eaten by her family or sold at the market. Of course there were many struggles along the way; a partner who stopped paying his share, building a brand new home on a rather precarious piece of land, many roads that continuously flooded, and the overwhelming amount of nonstop work. When that farm was no longer manageable, she sold it and bought one more suitable to her. Through her can-do attitude and a great sense of humor, she is now not only a successful farmer, but conducts workshops at her farm for others wanting to learn all the skills connected with farming, and she writes an almost daily blog, also called Chickens in the Road, as to what’s going on in her farm life. An extra plus is that there are many wonderful pictures of the farms and her family. This book was thoroughly enjoyable and you find yourself pulling for her to succeed. And succeed she did!